on the night you were born

"on the night you were born,

the moon shone with such wonder

that the stars peeked in to see you

and the night wind whispered

'Life will never be the same'

Because there had never been

anyone like you...

ever in the world"

by Nancy Tillman

I love LOVE love this.  My son Charlie was born on such a night and these words just mean so much to me.  I must admit that they made me cry, as I read this to my husband my head was saying this is what happened the night Charlie was born.  Nancy Tillman, thank you for writing this book.  I must see if I can find a copy at the library. I am also thinking about perhaps a painting.... mmmm but for now I will search for the book.

I have been busy this week - every day I have been able to paint in my studio.   The afternoon sun falls on my feet from under my table and I have been listening to M practice his songs down the hall.  This makes me a very happy girl.  I have been painting and drawing, cutting and pasting, enjoying the process.... Now I just need to get into the habit of taking more photos during my day, it actually makes me more 'aware' of my surroundings.  As for the weather - it has been cold, I was suppose to have gone to creative book making on Tuesday and I chose to sit in front of the fire and create there, I believe it was about 4 degrees..  you can laugh South Island peeps, but to us here in Warkworth is was COLD.

OK I must go as I have some very interesting Library books about being creative in mixed  medias..... Happy Saturday everyone.

Gordon Harris

Who doesn't  love Gordon Harris? I love that shop!!! I went there today with my husband (I know he should of stayed in the car) I wandered around the isles looking,  reading, dreaming.  I would love to experiment with those gels/pastes on canvas - wish they made tiny little pottles so that you could find out which one you love using instead of purchasing a big pottle and you end of liking something else.  So anyway I bought some more canvases and paint and some more brushes.   The deal was I went to Gordon Harris and then M got to go to the music shop to play with all the guitars, which was a fair deal as we both got to look at the things we love.....
then we came home and I got to start on a new canvas.... having fun with the size at the moment I have painted about 10 canvases so far and just need to vanish them. 

but right now I am going to sit in front of the fire to drink my tea and chat with my son.  Happy Wednesday everyone.

Busy, Busy, Busy

So I have started  my next project and have been busy creating cutting, pasting, painting, folding..... I am making products for Kowhai Festival. There are so many things that I need to make and organize. Its exciting and scary at the same time. The huge day out is alot of fun. Warkworth close their main streets off and it gets covered in stalls/markets; children's rides, food, clothing, face painting, duck racing, toys, crafts, wine tasting ....to name a few. You just walk around looking, tasting, purchasing, soaking up the atmosphere, it really is fun.

Can I just say that man it is so cold today, I really should light the fire, but fire and I don't really 'gel' it takes me ages to light one, whereas my husband comes along a bang its roaring. Must be a caveman thing.

I am going to lock myself away in my studio and paint....... Have a lovely Monday everyone.

Amelia's Garden

Hello - I can finally tick a box on my list of things to do this year. 
My Mannequin for the Warkworth Hospice Wearable Arts.  I wanted to combine my love of children's illustrations and handmade crafts.  At the time I was making it I was in bed with the Flu so I spent my days sewing under the duvet.  It was an interesting process, starting with a concept and then working out how I was going to create this work. Of course it came our slightly different at the end, but I am still very proud of what I created.  

 I loved sewing, cutting, stamping, wiring, glittering and glueing my pieces together.  Every leaf I cut out of felt and then added some stitches to bring them to life.  In the middle of the torso I created a 'book' and placed the main character, Amelia. (painted in watercolours)  I also added lots of little butterflies so when the viewer looks closely they will discover them, hopefully bringing a smile to their faces.

This is now to be displayed with all the other Mannequin's at Hall's Electrical in Warkworth on the 8th - 25th August and the public can vote for their favourite.  They then will be auctioned on the 26th and 27th.  Mine will be auctioned on the Saturday 27th.  After all the work I put into this I found it hard to hand in, however it is for a very good cause, supporting our local hospice.  I cannot wait to see what all the other Artists created.  I will try and take some photos of the shop window. 


my finished piece - Amelia's Garden

  
Now for my next project, my son's 5th birthday party which is going to be on Sunday.  He wants to have a fancy dress so this should be fun.  I have still to come up with some party games.  Is there anyone out there who has some ideas for 5 years old? - I would love Charlie and his friends play some different games besides pin the tail and pass the parcel...